Kenyan juniors lose opening IHF trophy championship match to Burundi

Kenyan goalkeeper Paul Opiyo's prowess on goal was not enough to stop a resilient Burundi side as the Junior (Under-20) side lost 25-28 to the latter in the opening match of the ongoing IHF Trophy zone five championship. 

The match hosted at Ulinzi Complex was a first for coach Thodosia Sangoro and Brian Mathews at the helm with a majority of the players also making their national team debut but they held their own only to crack in the dying minutes. 

"This was a first appearance for most of these players so I laud them for the performance they have given. Our target shooting was poor and we lost many scoring chances this way. 

We had lost penalties that if scored they would have leveled matters and probably given us the confidence to fight for the win. We will go back to the drawing and try to recover in the next march," offered the tactician. 

Sangoro's charges went five goals to two up but the Burundians clawed their way back to within a goal at 5-4. 

The scores were tied at six with fifteen minutes played and Kenya, having had to go one a crucial timeout to unlock their scoring shots as they had missed numerous chances. 

The Burundian shot stopper Lionel Nzokira had been the side's best player so far, putting a stop to Kenya's attack to deny them what would have been a huge lead had their attempts been fruitful. 

Burundi took the lead at 7-8 and again at 8-9 but Sangoro's men came back to equalise on both occasions forcing Burundi into a timeout with scores tied at nine and 21 minutes played. 

Samuel Barasa put Kenya back ahead at 10-9 but their advantage was short-lived as the score was level at ten before Kenya made it 11-10. 

Kenya's defense was put to the test, especially on the wings as the youngsters allowed their Burundian counterparts to to get too comfortable at the flanks. 

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They paid for their sins as they found themselves trailing 11-13 and 12-14 in the last two minutes of the half and were a goal behind at 14-15 as the half-time whistle went. 

Aime Ndayisaba and Guillain Giraneza scored from the seven meter line and off a fast break respectively to put the visitors on a three-goal advantage at 14-17. 

Douglas Wekesa cut Kenya's deficit to two with Eshiton Situma towering above Burundi's defence to make it 16-17 as Kenya went on to equalise the score at 17 and take the lead at 18-17. 

Ten minutes into second half both sides were level at 19 goals but Richard Kavakure gave the visitors the lead from the seven-meter line. 

Halfway through the second half, it was obvious that thos would continue to be a see-saw as the side remained tied at 20 and again at 21 setting the stage for a spectacular finish to the match. 

Opiyo, the Kenya keeper had proved his worth between the sticks so far, with timely stops, but infield counterparts had failed to reward his prowess on offense and the hosts were still trailing by a goal with ten minutes left on the clock. 

Meshack Muthiani leveled matters at 22 with seven minutes and it was game on. The scores were tied at 23 and again at 24 but it was Kenya playing catch-up and soon found themselves short at 24-26 with four minutes to play. 

A timeout did little to settle the Kenyan boys and they were caught on a back-to-back fast breaks following two costly turnovers and trailed 25-28 with one minute 20 seconds to play which was not enough time for the Kenyans to recover. 

On his part, Burundian tactician attributed the team's performance to exposure for his charges revealing that the team has taken part in numerous competitions.